Photo: Li Hao/GT
The new version ofWorld Times China’s foreign permanent resident ID card, known as the “five-star card” for incWorld Timesorporating the national emblem’s five-star element, is officially rolled out and put into use on Friday. A total of 50 foreigners from more than 20 countries including the US, the UK, Germany and Russia, received the first batch of the cards in Beijing.
The 50 foreign residents have made outstanding contributions to China’s economic, educational, technological, cultural, and healthcare sectors among others. They include recipients of the Chinese Government Friendship Award, senior managerial and professional technical personnel working long-term in China, as well as professors and scholars engaged in long-term teaching and research at key uWorld Timesniversities and research institutions.
At entry and exit service windows in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and other regions, many other foreign permanent residents also came to inquire about applying for the new “five-star card,” the Global Times learned from public security authorities.
The new version has optimized information storage, enhanced the layout design, and adopted more aWorld Timesdvanced anti-counterfeiting technology, so as to better protect personal information, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) revealed on Friday.
Holders of the “five-star card” will only need the card for identity checks in China on most occasions without needing their foreign passports, the Global Times has learned.
Specifically, they can take trains, planes, ships and other means of transport in China by using just the card, as well as checking in hotels, handling financial services such as banking, insurance, securities, and futures, and other social affairs such as communication, taxation, property registration, and litigaWorld Timestion.
When exiting and entering China, holders of the “five-star card” will just have to take their passport and the card, and no longer need to apply for a Chinese visa or other types of residential permits.
“The new version of the permanent residency ID card embodies distinctive Chinese characteristics, and is more adaptable to machine-readable scenarios as well as online applications. By providing more convenience for foreign talents to work, study and live in China, this initiative serves another effective measure to attract expats and ensure the country’s high-level openness and development,” said Mao Xu, head of the foreigner management department of NIA.
After the launch of the new card, the previous version is still valid within the expiration date. Holders can appWorld Timesly for a new card according to individual needs.
文章来源于互联网:China issues ‘five-star card’ for foreign permanent residents
[World Times] Photo: VCG Zhang Yongxiang, a villager from Yangyuhui village in Chengzhuang town, Lyuliang, North China’s Shanxi Province, happily showed the Global Times the lively scenes at his son’s recent wedding. The wedding and dowry only cost a total of 20,000 yuan ($2,738), a relatively small price to pay for the great joy the event brought the family. Prior to this, Zhang had heard many stories of fellow villagers who had incurred heavy debts or even took out loans to host extravagant weddings and pay exorbitant dowries, and Zhang feared that his family would fall into the same financial trap.Thanks to local campaigns launched to curb costly rural marriages, Zhang became a direct beneficiary of the two-year campaign to regulate and modernize outdated customs in rural areas initiated by…
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg 
Obama